Administering the Initial and Summative ELPAC

This section provides information about English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) test examiners (TEs), estimated testing times, and administration methods.

Who Administers the Initial ELPAC and Summative ELPAC?

The Initial and Summative ELPAC are administered by trained TEs per 5 CCR Section 11518.50 who

are employees or contractors of their local educational agency (LEA);
are proficient in speaking English (which means complete command of pronunciation, intonation, and fluency);
have electronically signed the Test Security Affidavit prior to accessing the test materials or administering the test; and
certify that they have received ELPAC training from their LEA.

Technology Readiness

Best practice in determining a student’s familiarity with taking computer-based assessments prior to administering the Initial ELPAC for students in grades three through twelve, is for LEAs to administer the Technology Readiness Checker tool to students. If the LEA determines the student needs technological support, they may assign the following:

Test navigation assistance during group administration
Designated interface assistant for one-on-one administration, where the TE is in control of navigation and entering student responses

Initial ELPAC Administration

The Initial ELPAC shall be administered in person or remotely as directed in the ELPAC Online Test Administration Manual. The Initial ELPAC testing window is July 3, 2024, through June 30, 2025. For more information, refer to the Initial ELPAC Directions for Administration.

Initial ELPAC Test Duration

The Initial ELPAC is an untimed test, but approximate times are estimated in tables 1–6 below to help schedule testing sessions for in-person administration. These estimated testing times are based on the prior year’s administration times.

**Table 1. Initial ELPAC Estimated Testing Times for Kindergarten**
Domain (Administration Type)	Minutes
Listening (Individual)	10–15
Speaking (Individual)	5–10
Reading (Individual)	5–10
Writing (Individual)	10–15
Total estimated test administration time	30–50

**Table 2. Initial ELPAC Estimated Testing Times for Grade One**
Domain (Administration Type)	Minutes
Listening (Individual)	15–20
Speaking (Individual)	5–15
Reading (Individual)	5–10
Writing (Individual)	10–15
Total estimated test administration time	35–60

**Table 3. Initial ELPAC Estimated Testing Times for Grade Two**
Domain (Administration Type)	Minutes
Listening (Individual)	10–20
Speaking (Individual)	5–15
Reading (Individual)	5–15
Writing (Individual or Small Group up to 10 students)	10–20
Total estimated test administration time	30–70

**Table 4. Initial ELPAC Estimated Testing Times for Grades Three Through Five**
Domain (Administration Type)	Minutes
Listening (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	10–15
Speaking (Individual)	10–15
Reading (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	5–15
Writing (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	20–40
Total estimated test administration time	45–85

**Table 5. Initial ELPAC Estimated Testing Times for Grades Six Through Eight**
Domain (Administration Type)	Minutes
Listening (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	20–25
Speaking (Individual)	10–20
Reading (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	10–20
Writing (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	25–70
Total estimated test administration time	65–135

**Table 6. Initial ELPAC Estimated Testing Times for Grades Nine Through Twelve**
Domain (Administration Type)	Minutes
Listening (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	20–30
Speaking (Individual)	10–20
Reading (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	10–25
Writing (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	25–75
Total estimated test administration time	65–150

Note that TEs should add 5–10 minutes for setting up and logging on to the device. For the most up-to-date estimated testing times for the Initial ELPAC, refer to the Initial ELPAC Estimated Testing Times web page.

Refer to the California Assessment Accessibility Resources Matrix for specific information regarding allowable breaks based on student needs. Best practice allows for sufficient breaks to avoid fatigue and administration over the course of several days, if needed. If your district was selected for field testing, please note that additional testing time for one of the domains will be required.

Initial ELPAC Participation

For the Initial ELPAC, students must log on to all four domains, unless exempted, in order to be included in the participation rate for the LEA, to be considered as tested, and to receive a Student Score Report. Refer to the Initial ELPAC Participation and Scoring document.

Summative ELPAC Administration

The Summative ELPAC shall be administered in person or remotely as directed in the ELPAC Online Test Administration Manual. The Summative ELPAC testing window is February 3 through May 31. For more information, refer to the Summative ELPAC Directions for Administration.

Summative ELPAC Test Duration

The Summative ELPAC is an untimed test, but approximate times are provided in tables 7–13 below to help schedule testing sessions. These estimated testing times are based on the prior year’s administration times.

**Table 7. Summative ELPAC Estimated Testing Times for Kindergarten**
Domain (Administration Type)	Minutes
Listening (Individual)	15–20
Speaking (Individual)	15–20
Reading (Individual)	10–15
Writing (Individual)	10–15
Total estimated test administration time	50–70

**Table 8. Summative ELPAC Estimated Testing Times for Grade One**
Domain (Administration Type)	Minutes
Listening (Individual)	20–25
Speaking (Individual)	20–25
Reading (Individual)	15–20
Writing (Individual)	15–20
Total estimated test administration time	70–90

**Table 9. Summative ELPAC Estimated Testing Times for Grade Two**
Domain (Administration Type)	Minutes
Listening (Individual)	20–25
Speaking (Individual)	20–25
Reading (Individual)	15–20
Writing (Individual or Small Group up to 10 students)	15–20
Total estimated test administration time	70–90

**Table 10. Summative ELPAC Estimated Testing Times for Grades Three Through Five**
Domain (Administration Type)	Minutes
Listening (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	20–30
Speaking (Individual)	20–30
Reading (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	30–60
Writing (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	30–55
Total estimated test administration time	100–175

**Table 11. Summative ELPAC Estimated Testing Times for Grades Six Through Eight**
Domain (Administration Type)	Minutes
Listening (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	20–30
Speaking (Individual)	20–30
Reading (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	30–60
Writing (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	30–55
Total estimated test administration time	100–175

**Table 12. Summative ELPAC Estimated Testing Times for Grades Nine and Ten**
Domain (Administration Type)	Minutes
Listening (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	25–35
Speaking (Individual)	20–30
Reading (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	30–60
Writing (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	30–55
Total estimated test administration time	105–180

**Table 13. Summative ELPAC Estimated Testing Times for Grades Eleven and Twelve**
Domain (Administration Type)	Minutes
Listening (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	25–35
Speaking (Individual)	20–30
Reading (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	30–60
Writing (Individual or Group up to 20 students)	30–55
Total estimated test administration time	105–180

Note that TEs should add 5–10 minutes for setting up and logging on to the device. For more information regarding estimated testing times and form assignments, refer to the Summative ELPAC Estimated Testing Times web page. The testing schedule for the Summative ELPAC may be altered to give students. If your district was selected for field testing, please note that additional testing time for one of the domains will be required.

Summative ELPAC Participation

To ensure that students are counted as having participated in the Summative ELPAC, they must log on to a minimum of one domain in each composite. In the

Oral Language composite, students must log on to either the Listening

or Speaking domain. For the Written Language composite, students

must log on to either the Reading or Writing domain (or for kindergarten

through grade two Writing, return the Answer Book).

Note that a domain which is not completed will receive zero points for that domain and will be assigned the lowest obtainable scale score (LOSS) at the end of the testing window. This LOSS will be used in calculating the overall and composite scores. For more information, see the Summative ELPAC Participation and Scoring document.

Audio Capture and Score Calibration

The California State Board of Education approved the high-level test design of the computer-based ELPAC in May 2018 (for more information refer to the Proposed High-Level Test Design for the Alternate ELPAC document), which required that the testing contractor collect student voice-capture responses for the Speaking domain.

Although all LEAs will participate in this collection, only a small random sample of student responses will be scored and evaluated. This evaluation is conducted so that ELPAC TEs across the state are calibrated to ensure consistency in scoring. Information gathered during this process will be used to improve training for future test administrations. Upon completion of this process, all student voice responses will be purged from the system.

Audio capture and score calibration will not affect the official scores that are entered in the moment by TEs.